Generally, an electrical connector includes some form of dielectric or insulating housing which mounts one or more conductive electrical terminals. The terminals have contact portions which are adapted for engaging the contact portions of the terminals of a complementary mating electrical connector or other connecting device. In an electrical connector assembly, a pair of mating connectors are interconnected for establishing one or more electrical circuits through the assembly interface.
Electrical connectors are used in a wide variety of applications. They may interconnect discrete electrical wires or they may interconnect a plurality of printed circuit boards or they may interconnect discrete wires with circuit traces on a circuit board, for instance. Electrical connectors also are used in a wide variety of environments, such as through panels or backplanes as well as in "drawer" applications, for instance.
In many applications, interconnecting electrical connectors are complex and expensive, involving one type of connector (such as a male or plug connector) and still another type of connector (such as a female or receptacle connector). In some instances, a pair of hermaphroditic connectors are used in an electrical connector assembly to simplify the assembly and reduce its costs. One type of hermaphroditic connector system includes a pair of hermaphroditic connectors having opposed mating faces which are juxtaposed generally along a plane when the connectors are mated. The connectors are adapted for mating in directions generally parallel to the plane of the mating faces. There have been certain problems with these types of connectors, such as binding of the connectors when the housings are mated in a slightly skewed condition, particularly when the housings are elongated. Other problems involve the contact forces changing significantly when the opposing contacts engage at different positions at the mating faces between the connectors. The present invention is directed to solving these various problems and to providing simple, inexpensive and effective hermaphroditic electrical connectors.